TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2009 (9) TMI 914
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....iling Land Holding Form No. 2 (for short, `CLH Form-2') along with enclosures within a period of thirty days from the date of notice. 4. Pursuant to the aforesaid notice under Section 9(2), the appellants submitted its reply on February 21, 2002 raising diverse objections, inter alia; (1) that notice under Section 9(2) could only be issued to a tenure-holder who holds agricultural land and not to one who does not hold agricultural land; (ii) that in the form annexed with the notice, the land of the objectors has been wrongly shown as irrigated. As a matter of fact, the subject land was purchased by the appellants through separate sale deeds dated March 3, 1987; March 10, 1987 and April 20, 1987; which was already recorded as `abadi' land at the time of purchase; (iii) that the residential quarters for the labour as well as industries exist over the land, and; (iv) that the land held by them is not covered by any of the provisions of the Act, 1960. In the statement submitted by the appellant in C.L.H. Form-2, it was stated under every column `not applicable'. 5. On May 23, 2002, the Prescribed Authority called upon the appellants to submit the details of each khata h....
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....that we refer to the statutory provisions first. 14. Act, 1960 was enacted to provide for the imposition of ceiling on land holdings in Uttar Pradesh and other matters connected therewith; the main objective of the Act, 1960 being to provide for more equitable distribution of land by making the same available to the extent possible to landless agricultural labourers and to provide for cultivation on cooperative basis and to conserve part of the available resources in land so as to increase the production and preserve stock of food-grains against lean years. 15. Section 3(2) defines `ceiling area' that means the area of land not being land exempted under the Act, determined as such in accordance with the provisions of Section 5. Holding' under Section 3(9) means the land or lands held by a person as a bhumidar, sirdar, asami of Gaon Sabha or an asami mentioned in Section 11 of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950, or as a tenant under the U.P. Tenancy Act, 1939, other than a sub-tenant, or as a Government lessee, or as a sub-lessee of a Government lessee, where the period of the sub-lease is co-extensive with the period of the lease. Presc....
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....id Act, to submit to him within 30 days of publication of such notice a statement referred to in sub- section (1): [Provided that at any time after October 10, 1975, the Prescribed Authority may, by notice, call upon any tenure- holder holding land in excess of the ceiling area applicable to him on the said date, to submit to him within thirty days from the date of service of such notice a statement referred to in sub-section (1) or any information pertaining thereto.]; [(2-A) Every tenure-holder holding land in excess of the ceiling area on January 24, 1971, or at any time thereafter who has not submitted the statement referred to in sub-section (2) and in respect of whom no proceeding under this Act is pending on October 10, 1975 shall, within thirty days from the said date furnish to the Prescribed Authority a statement containing particulars of all land-- (a) held by him and the members of his family on January 24, 1971; (b) acquired or disposed of by him or by members of his family between January 24, 1971 and October 10, 1975.] 3. Where the tenure-holders' wife holds any land which is liable to be aggregated with the land held by the tenure- holder for pur....
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....proceed to decide the same in accordance with the provisions of Section 12. (3) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2) and Section 13, the order of the Prescribed Authority shall be final and conclusive and be not questioned in any court of law. 12. Determination of the surplus land by the Prescribed Authority where an objection is filed.--(1) Where an objection has been filed under sub-section (2) of Section 10 or under sub-section (2) of Section 11, or because of any appellate order under Section 13, the Prescribed Authority shall, after affording the parties reasonable opportunity of being heard and of producing evidence, decide the objections after recording his reasons, and determine the surplus land. (2) Subject to any appellate order under Section 13, the order of the Prescribed Authority under sub-section (1) shall be final and conclusive and be not questioned in any court of law. 13. Appeals--(1) Any party aggrieved by an order under sub-section (2) of Section 11 or Section 12, may, within thirty days of the date of the order, prefer an appeal to the [Commissioner] within whose jurisdiction the land or any part thereof is situate. (2) The [Commissione....
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....] under Section 29, the tenure-holder shall, within such period as may be prescribed, submit a statement to the Prescribed Authority in the form and in the manner laid down under Section 9 indicating in the statement the plot or plots which he would like to retain as a part of his ceiling area. (2) (a) Where the statement submitted under sub- section (1) is accepted by the Prescribed Authority, it shall proceed to determine the surplus land accordingly. (b) Where a tenure-holder fails to submit a statement required to be submitted under sub-section (1) or submits an incomplete or incorrect statement the Prescribed Authority shall proceed in the manner laid down under Section 10. (c) The provisions of this Act in respect of declaration, acquisition, disposal and settlement of surplus land, shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to surplus land covered by this section." 21. In exercise of the powers conferred under Act, 1960 rules have been framed called Uttar Pradesh Imposition on Ceiling of Land Holdings Rules, 1961 (for short `Rules, 1961'). Rule 6 provides that the general notice to be published in pursuance of Section 9 and the statement required to be submitted ther....
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....estricted or denied unless such a construction is unavoidable" and held: "There can be no dispute regarding the correctness of the proposition mentioned in the statement extracted above, but here as the right of appeal is expressly excluded by providing that no appeal shall lie against an interlocutory order, it is not possible for us to stretch the language of the (1988) 3 SCC 26 1980 suppl SCC 92 section to give a right of appeal when no such right has been conferred. Even the statement extracted above clearly says that "the right will not be restricted unless such a construction is unavoidable". In the instant case, in view of non-obstante clause, Section 11(1) of the Act cannot be construed to contain a right of appeal even against an interlocutory order and, therefore, the present clause falls within the last part of the statement of the Crawford, extracted above". 25. It is well known that right of appeal is not a natural or inherent right. It cannot be assumed to exist unless expressly provided for by statute. Being a creature of statute, remedy of appeal must be legitimately traceable to the statutory provisions. It is true that mere omission or error in quoting t....
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....clared as surplus. The Prescribed Authority, under Section 10(2) then serves upon such tenure-holder a notice in C.L.H. From-4 together with the copy of statement prepared in C.L.H. Form-3 calling upon him to show cause why such statement prepared in C.L.H. Form 3 be not taken as correct. The provision contemplates tenure-holder to be given at least 10 days from the date of service of notice for his response. The tenure-holder may either accept such statement or file objections thereto. If he accepts that statement, the Prescribed Authority determines the surplus land. Such order is an order under Section 11(1). If the tenure-holder files objections to such statement, the Prescribed Authority then proceeds to determine the surplus land under Section 12. In the present case, the exercise contemplated under Section 10(1) and (2) has not at all been done by the Prescribed Authority. Neither any statement under C.L.H. Form 3 has been prepared under Section 10(1) nor any notice under Section 10(2) along with such statement has been served upon the appellants. The notice dated January 24, 2002 is a notice under Section 9(2) simplicitor and not a notice under Section 10(2) at all. 29. S....